Dramatic
by 1wingedangelX
Summary: "A boy meets girl or boy meets his dream. Someday I'll probably recall, the events of this summer" AU AquaxTerra Please R&R!
1. Chapter 1

AHHHHHH~ Here I am... procrastinating yet again... I can't help it! There are so many interesting things on the interwebs... I'm so sorry to the loyal readers of my other TerraxAqua story "Princely". I wanted to update before the end of 2011 but I got in a bit of a slump... Hopefully I'll update soon... Maybe... I actually have no idea...

So in the meantime enjoy this story that was created during my lazy/procrastination time! This idea was actually born from when I heard a Japanese song called "Dramatic" by Base Ball Bear. If you're interested, go listen! It's a good song and it goes pretty well with the story.

**Rating: **T for mild swearing

**Please Note!:** This AU takes place in a Japanese high school. For those who don't know, the high school system there is different than, say, the US. They only have three years of senior high so you'll see a lot of terms like First Year or Third Year. Hopefully, those are self-explanatory.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Kingdom Hearts, Disney or the song "Dramatic" from which this story was inspired by.

Happy reading~

* * *

><p>It was nearing the beginning of summer and the weather was making sure that fact was obvious. The sun was blaring above and the sky was perfectly clear. Even though it was almost 5 o'clock, with the days getting longer, the sun was no where near the horizon.<p>

Terra, a brown haired youth, pulled up the collar of his shirt to wipe the accumulating sweat on his upper lip. _"It's hot." _He thought as he let go of his dirty shirt.

"Hey! You two 1st Years! Stop talking, more running!" A prompt 'Yes sir!' was given in response and Terra could not help but smile at the enthusiasm of the new recruits.

He, himself, had joined the baseball team when he was a 1st Year. Baseball had been a hobby of his for as long as he could remember. One of his first memories was playing catch with his dad, wobbly kneed and with a glove that was far too big for a three-year old, for goodness sake! His hobby then became a love and suddenly a passion. He practiced mercilessly in middle school to be able to become a Regular on the baseball team of his chosen high school.

His first attempt at becoming a Regular in his 1st year of high school ended horribly. Crushed and broken-spirited, Terra almost quit the team, but a certain 2nd Year Regular saw potential in Terra's powerful pitches and pushed him to continue practicing.

By the beginning of his 2nd year, his pitches had become so powerful and fast there was hardly any chance of someone hitting them. He became a Regular, and not just that, he became Vice-Captain! The 2nd Year, who had encouraged him, now a 3rd Year, had become Captain, and the duo led the team to its first National victory.

At the graduation ceremony the previous spring, tears of happiness and shouts of 'I'll always be a baseball player!' resounded as Terra gave his Captain a farewell handshake.

"You better take this team to Nationals again, _Captain_."

Terra smiled at the precious memory as he watched the 1st Years continue to run. Now, as a 3rd Year and Captain, he was the pillar of support for the team, and he will be damned if he broke his promise with his former captain.

"You're grinning like an idiot."

Snapped out of his thoughts, Terra spun on his heel to face his childhood friend.

"Shut up, Ven." Terra's smile grew despite his rebuttal. The blonde boy laughed in response and walked up beside the taller boy, joining in on watching the 1st Years. "If you're not careful, you'll be running with those kids."

Ventus grinned as he turned his head to his friend, "You wouldn't do that to me! I'm a _Regular_." He puffed out his chest in pride. Terra stifled a chuckle, "That can always be changed, _2__nd__ Year_."

Ven deflated, "What?" His eyes grew wide as he stared up at Terra. Earning a laugh, Terra got him in a headlock and rubbed his knuckles onto the boy's scalp. "Ah! Mercy! Uncle!" the younger boy yelled. Terra laughed heartily as he let go. "Geez, you never change Terra." he huffed as he fixed his hair.

Terra shook his head in response and turned back to the running boys, "Two more laps!" The boys responded promptly and continued to run.

Ven plopped down onto the ground next Terra and yawned, already bored. Terra shook his head at the boy. _"You never change either."_

Terra and Ven had been neighbors growing up so they had always been around each other. During Elementary School, however, Ven's parents started getting into nasty arguments, which lead up to an even nastier divorce. Terra couldn't count the number of times Ven had run to his house for refuge, already on the verge of tears. Terra saw himself as a big brother to Ven and it truly broke his heart to see the happy-go-lucky boy practically shattered from all the fighting in his home.

It was during that time that Terra introduced the world of baseball to Ven. He never had as great a love for baseball as Terra did, but he caught on pretty quick. Frankly speaking, Ven's power level sucked, but he had a speed that was unmatchable. Terra trained him to gain some power, knowing that as soon as he gained enough strength for batting, the younger boy would be unstoppable on the diamond.

As years went on, Ven did grow in strength, he was still no where near Terra's level of power however, and become a first rate batter. When Terra entered high school, Ven vowed that he would follow Terra and join the baseball team as well. True to his word, Ven was accepted into the same school as Terra, but he refused to try out for the Regulars in his 1st year. His 2nd year, however, held a different story and the rest became history.

Once again snapped out of his memories, Terra straightened himself up, trying his hardest to look stern and intimidating, as the 1st Years trudged their way, sweaty and panting, to the pitcher's mound where their captain stood.

Terra looked over them, remembering back to his middle school days when he worked just as hard, and barely repressed a smile.

"All right, five minute water break then it's batting practice."

"Yes sir." the boys responded as they clamored their way to their water bottles and towels.

Ven stood up from his sitting position on the ground and dusted himself off.

"Ven, you're pitching." The blonde in question froze. "Why?" he groaned, "I suck at pitching! You're the pitcher, I'm just a batter."

"Exactly. The new kids need to start somewhere." Terra grinned as the pointed to the 1st Years that were wiping their faces and swallowing down water. Ven pouted but obediently went to the dug-out to grab a glove.

"Come on now, speed it up!" The boys hurriedly set down their things and jogged out to face their captain. "Get in order, it doesn't matter which order, and Ven will start pitching." Terra ordered, earning another group 'Yes sir'.

The batting practice was less than what Terra was hoping for, but he had to start somewhere. "Next!" he shouted and just like clockwork a new 1st Year was standing over home plate, in full gear and getting in position to bat.

"Ready?" came Ven's voice from the pitcher's mound. The batter nodded, a bit hesitant, and Ven wound up his pitch. Throwing it as slow as he could, without making it too easy of course, Ven pitched and the batter swung a little too late. The ball flew high into the sky and far too much to the left. _"Foul ball."_ Terra thought as he suppressed a groan. Only a handful of the hits the 1st Years had landed were actually good, and most of them were flukes.

The baseball flew far over the fence and Terra felt the urge to groan again. _"There it goes."_

The batter put down his bat immediately and took off his helmet. "I-I'll go get it Captain!" He announced, a little flustered. Terra shook his head, "No it's fine, I'll go. Keep practicing." He then turned to Ven, "Keep an eye on things while I'm gone." Ven gave him a mock salute and then turned to home plate to order the batter to put his helmet back on.

Terra walked out of the diamond through the gate and started toward the direction that the ball traveled.

* * *

><p>"<em>It's hot."<em>

Aqua, a young blunette, glared at the open window across the art studio. She had opened it previously so she could get good lighting in the room, but now, the heat was practically unbearable! She put down her paint pallet and brush and stepped away from her easel. She took in her painting and a warm smile crept onto her face. _"It's really coming along."_

For the longest time, Aqua wanted to paint this particular scene, but every time she brought up the nerve to actually do it, she would freeze up in front of the canvas. She would then give up immediately and begin another art piece. It was not until now, her 3rd year of high school, that she finally got over her weakness and began painting it. Aqua's smile grew as she continued to stare at her unfinished work. It really meant so much to her.

She untied her art smock and placed it on an empty table, relishing in the new coolness that the freedom brought her. She raised her left hand and wiped some sweat away from her cheek. As she brought her arm back down, she groaned, just then noticing that her left hand was covered in orange paint, which was now probably on her face as well.

Shrugging it off, she grabbed one of the wooden chairs in the room and sat down. Aqua glanced up at the clock above the entrance to the studio and was moderately surprised to see that it was almost 5 o'clock. _"Mom's right. I do lose track of time when I paint."_

She took a deep breath in then let it out as she threw her head backwards. Aqua began to clench and unclench her hands, trying to get the stiffness of having held a paintbrush for the past two hours, out of her fingers. She closed her eyes and thought about the upcoming art competition that was to begin at the beginning of her summer break. Aqua opened her eyes and glanced at her painting. Part of her wanted to enter the piece, knowing that it will probably be one of her best art pieces, but another part told her to keep it to herself, after all, it was born from her precious experience.

Closing her eyes once more she thought back to her past competitions.

For as long as she could remember, Aqua had a gift for art. Her first grade teacher had been the first to notice and prompted Aqua to draw something for a junior art competition. Easily taking first place, Aqua's parents had been so proud of her, so she was motivated to continue winning. Competition after competition, she would win first place. Her popularity grew nationally and by the end of elementary school, she was named an art prodigy.

Aqua gained special permission to join competitions for adults, which she also won. Many adults grew envious of her, but with one look at her paintings, sketches, or sculptures, she not only gained more popularity but also respect. In middle school, her principal had given her a special room that she could use for her art studio. Aqua was beyond grateful, especially considering the fact that her mother had started complaining about how their entire house smelt of paint. The special treatment caused her classmates to push her away, saying things like 'She thinks she's better than us' or 'She's just an art freak', but she did not mind.

Art was her life. All she needed was that.

Aqua knew that she would probably hear things like that again, so she shrugged it off and continued to do things her own way. Of course it got lonely, but what could she do?

She thought back to a previous friendship she once had with a girl in elementary school that ended horribly when Aqua chose to go to an art competition rather than the amusement park with her friend. She grimaced at the memory, remembering the hurtful words the other girl had thrown at her.

Aqua was known for being cold-hearted, considering she always brushed others off, never wanting to experience the same thing again. Maybe that caused people to move further away.

Honestly, the loneliness almost got to her when she a Second Year. Her chosen high school had given her a full scholarship due to the fact that she was practically a national celebrity in the art world and on the condition that she spread the school name by continuing to win competitions. She was given an art studio, right next to the school's art classroom, that she could use at any time she pleased. But, as autumn came around during her second year in high school, she found herself in a huge slump, the only slump she had ever been in her entire life. She was on the brink of depression.

If she did not have art, what did she have?

Aqua opened her eyes and, choking back a few tears, looked at her painting. She smiled, blinking away the tears. The experience that had inspired her painting is what saved her.

She took in a breath and let it out again as she stood from her seat. Rolling her shoulders, she walked over to where she had placed her smock and put it back on.

She'll be damned if she does not finish this before the start of summer.

Aqua picked up her art pallet and brush and resumed painting.

* * *

><p>Terra was not frustrated. Oh no, he was <em>beyond<em> that point. He cursed the 1st Year that had hit the ball, he cursed the ball itself for being so elusive and he cursed Ven for being, well, _Ven_, just to have a third thing to curse. He had been wandering the school grounds looking low in bushes and high in trees, just in case, for that damned baseball.

Terra ran his fingers through his spiky hair for what seem like the umpteenth time in the past ten minutes. He was moving further and further away from the baseball field. _"That kid couldn't have hit the ball _that _far."_

He straightened himself up and his back gave a satisfactory 'crack'. He turned his head to give his neck a good crack as well when he spotted it. The ever-elusive baseball he had been looking for the past ten minutes was peaking out from underneath a bush a little ways away from him.

"Gotcha bitch." He mumbled triumphantly as he made his way over to the bush. As he stood over the offending ball he glanced upward, a movement catching his eye and froze.

A girl was standing inside one of the rooms inside the school. The window was wide open and the white curtain that was fluttering in the warm breeze was what caught his attention.

The girl inside the room was standing up completely straight staring at a canvas which must have had some sort painting on it, Terra guessed. The smock she was wearing was smudged with all sorts of colors, even her face had a few colors on it. She brought her paintbrush up with one of her paint-stained hands and began making a few stokes, then a few dabs and resumed her position of just staring at the canvas. Suddenly, she smiled, a wide smile that seemed to glow in the sun that was dripping into the room.

Terra found himself moving closer to the window until he slammed his knee directly into a short bush causing him to completely topple over. He swore loudly as he unceremoniously fell flat on his face.

Sitting up, Terra rubbed his sore cheek as he let out another curse. He looked up, not really knowing why he still wanted to look through that window and froze for the second time that day.

She was staring at him. _She_ was staring at him. _She _was _staring_ at _him_.

Terra scrambled to his feet in the most ungraceful way and the girl's wide eyes only continued to stare. The young baseball player opened his mouth to say something – _anything,_ really, to diffuse the embarrassing and terribly awkward situation but found himself at a loss for words when his chocolate eyes locked with her blue ones.

They stood there, completely unmoving, for a few more moments.

"Uh..." Terra wanted to slap himself for sounding like a total idiot and looking like a total idiot by falling in front of this girl. _"This beautiful girl." _He felt a blush rising up the back of his _god_, he could _not_ be more of a moron right now.

Terra recovered from his daze when he noticed the change in the girl's face.

"_Wait, is she _scowling_ at me?"_

He opened his mouth to say something until he noticed her move around a table toward the window.

Panic began to rise in the pit of his stomach, _"She coming this way!"_ This time Terra mentally slapped himself for sounding like a scared, love-sick schoolgirl.

When the girl reached the window she promptly shut it and pulled the curtain over it so Terra could no longer see inside.

"_Wait. What?"_

Terra blinked dumbly for a few seconds then was overcome with confusion, embarrassment, irritation and... disappointment? Not really knowing what to do or which emotion he should tend to first, he stood there, mouth agape.

"_WHAT?"_

The boy turned on his heel and walked back to the baseball that he was originally looking for. He bent down and quickly scooped it up. Squeezing it in his hand, he glared at it. _"This is your fault."_ Terra huffed and began his angry march back to the baseball field.

"_Geez, what's up with her?" _Terra began to slow down. I mean, here he was trying to start a conversation (if you could call 'Uh...' a conversation-starter) with this random girl (This random girl who looked even more beautiful when she smiled) and she slammed the friggin' window on him! It's like he was a bug she didn't want coming inside or something!

Terra halted fully and stared down at the baseball in his hand. His head was full of her. He groaned loudly as he threw his head back and stared at the clear blue sky. _"Just like her eyes."_

Terra found himself looking back toward the window where he met the most mysterious beauty.

* * *

><p>"Oh my- Oh my- <em>Oh my god<em>!"

Aqua was near hyperventilating after basically slamming the window in _Terra's_ face. She was pacing back and forth in her art studio trying to wrap her mind around the events that had just transpired.

She would be an idiot if she did not know who _Terra_ was. He was pretty much the _idol_ of the school. All the guys respected him and all the girls wanted to date him. Being captain of the baseball team, having good grades, and having the the whole 'tall, dark and mysterious' look going for him, gave him instant popularity. He was the 'cool and strong' type that made girls swoon and guys jealous and a little fearful. He was always surrounded by people and although he acted cold at first, was actually pretty amiable, which, of course, gave him another popularity boost.

That was the first time she had ever seen him up close without other people around, and she had to go and _slam_ a friggin'_ window_ in his face.

Aqua fell into the wooden chair that she was sitting in earlier. She was suddenly feeling a little faint. She brought her hands up to her face, stopping only when she remembered that there was paint all over them. Slamming her head onto a nearby table, creating a small 'thud' noise, she closed her eyes.

She had been painting normally when she heard a loud voice outside her studio. When she turned to see what had happened she wasn't expecting to see _him_. Since he was on the ground, Aqua was quickly able to deduce that he had fallen and she most likely would have laughed when she saw him clumsily climb to his feet, that is, if she wasn't so embarrassed by the fact that he was staring at her.

It took her a while to fully comprehend that she was staring at him and that he was, indeed, staring back. Aqua had been so embarrassed, she was sure she was going to blush. To counter the upcoming blush, she scrunched her face, only to realize that in doing that she was most certainly making a total fool of herself.

So, her next instinct was to hide, to avoid any more embarrassment. Of course, there was no where for her to hide without looking like an even bigger idiot. So, she did the next best thing: she shut the window. Consumed by her thoughts, Aqua didn't even notice that he had actually tried to _talk_ to her until after the fact.

Aqua let out a shaky breath she just noticed she was holding. She stood, much calmer than she was before. She looked toward the window. _"He wouldn't still be there... right?"_

The artist slowly made her way to the covered window. Peeking out from behind the curtain, Aqua confirmed her suspicions: he wasn't there. Aqua let out a heavy sigh and stopped for a second. Why, on _earth_, was she_ disappointed_?

She moved the curtain so she could see outside again, but kept the window shut. _"I don't think I can continue painting now."_ Aqua made her way to her supplies, ready to start cleaning up and heading home.

She froze and turned to her painting. _Dear god._ Did he_ see?_ Did he _see_ her _painting_?

Aqua bit her lip in panic. "N-no way... right?" She thought out loud.

Not wanting to think about it anymore, she threw a dirty cloth over the painting, like she always did, and began putting away her supplies. As she threw off her smock, Aqua raised her gaze up, not really looking at anything in particular. Her mind was full of him.

Aqua found herself looking back to the window where she had the strangest exchange with the school's most popular guy.

* * *

><p>Terra looked at his wristwatch. <em>"Six o'clock."<em>

"All right guys! Finish it up! I'll see you guys at practice tomorrow!"

The younger boys mumbled their thanks and 'see you tomorrow's and began trudging their way to the dug-out to collect their things. Terra watched them with blank eyes and his mind drifted... _Again..._

For the remainder of the practice, Terra had been a total space cadet, responding only with grunts or hand motions. The first years paid it no mind, for all they knew he was probably just frustrated with them, but Ven picked up on the strange behavior immediately.

After saying his good-byes to the 1st Years, Ven strolled over to where Terra was standing on the diamond.

"Hey." There was no response so he tried to call out to the brunet again... and again... and again.

Ven puffed out his cheeks in annoyance, "HEY!"

Terra jumped, "What's all the yelling for?" Ven rolled his eyes, "And you call me an airhead. Look at you! Your head's been up in the clouds since you got back from getting that ball."

"Oh." Terra said simply and scratched the back of his neck. Years of growing up together made it easy for Ven to spot Terra's little quirks and habits, so he noticed the scratch quickly. _"Embarrassment?" _Ven raised a questioning eyebrow as the older boy looked down at the ground, still scratching the back of his neck.

"What happened?" Ven asked slowly. Terra's eyes flashed upward and Ven noticed the faintest of blush on the other boy's face.

Ven laughed out loud, "Did you break something?"

"No!" The captain rebutted quickly, slightly angered by the younger boy's laughing.

"So you saw a girl or something?" Ven asked, still laughing, completely joking. In all the years that they had been around each other, Ven had never, once seen Terra particularly interested in a girl. Girls were always all over him but he paid them no mind. _"He's never even had a girlfriend for Jiminy's sake!"_ Ven recalled a time when he had asked Terra about his love life, or lack there of, and was answered with, "My girlfriend is baseball."

So to say that Ven was surprised by the fantastically red blush that appeared on Terra's face after the previous question, would be the understatement of the century. The blonde's eyes widened as his laughing died down to a halt. "You actually-"

He was cut off when Terra coughed awkwardly into his hand, "Thanks for staying behind after actual practice to help out with practice for the new recruits." Terra was desperately trying to change the subject but he knew that the youngster would not let go of the topic, so before more questions could be asked, Terra began to make his way to where his things were.

"W-wait! Terra!" Ven called out as he followed the brunet to the dug-out. Terra repressed a groan, hoping that Ven wouldn't embarrass him too much on their walk back home.

As the barrage of questions began, Terra made a secret promise to himself. He was going to see her again the next day. Maybe even get an actual conversation going. He swallowed hard just thinking about her. He clenched his hands; they were beginning to get a little sweaty.

"_From the heat of course."_ he thought quickly.

* * *

><p>It was after school and the heat from the previous day still lingered. Aqua unlocked the door to her studio and stepped inside, humming a little tune as she put her schoolbag down at a relatively clean table.<p>

Aqua sighed in content at the coolness of the room compared the scorching heat of the classrooms. Since the studio had cement walls and flooring, it was always colder in there. It was dreadful during the winter but heaven during the summer.

"_Maybe I should open the window again to get some light in here."_ she thought as she looked around the relatively dark room. She stopped, then felt her face flush. The mere mention of the window sent memories of the previous day flooding back.

Slamming her hands down roughly onto a nearby table, Aqua shook her head to snap herself out of her love-sick trance. Yes, she thought he was an attractive guy and the encounter had given her butterflies for hours, but she hardly knew him! And he for _sure_, didn't know who she was. _"He's probably even forgotten it by now!"_ Aqua felt her stomach drop in... disappointment?

She sighed and shock her head again. "No. Focus."

"Focus on painting?"

Aqua eye's widened and she whipped around as quickly as she possibly could. There in the doorway on her studio stood _Terra_.

The painter stared at him intensely as she tried to gather her lost thoughts as fast as she could. _"Why? Why? WHY IS HE HERE? Right now. He's here. In this room. RIGHT NO-"_

Terra shifted his weight from one foot to the other, _"Maybe this wasn't such a good idea..."_ He clenched his sweaty palms. Who was he kidding? He had felt more awkward and embarrassed at that one moment than he had ever felt in his entire life! But the weird thing was, he didn't mind. Not in the least. He'd make the same decision again to see her if he had the chance. Terra felt a blush rising.

"Uh..." He started. Aqua blinked out her thoughts.

"_Settle down, Aqua. Settle." _She took a quick breath in then let it go. She closed her eyes, "What are you doing here Terra?"

The boy in question was mildly surprised, "You know who I am?" Aqua sighed and turned so her back was toward him. She grabbed her art supplies and began setting them in their places for work. "Is that a joke?" She asked, "You are the single most popular guy in the entire school."

Terra scratched the back of his neck, "People are still talking about me like that?" Aqua sent a glance his way then continued her preparations. "People have _been_ talking about you like that."

An awkward silence arose after her comment and Terra could feel his neck begin to sweat. He stepped into the studio and leaned against a table. "W-well I've heard some things about you too, Aqua." He cursed himself for stuttering but kept his eyes on her, hoping, _praying_, that she would respond and he could keep up the conversation. He glanced up at the clock above the door. He only had about fifteen minutes left until he needed to get to the baseball field.

"Not pleasant things, I assume." Aqua was surprised. Had he known who she was when he first saw her? If he did then why was he talking to her? Rumors about her were well-known and very unflattering. She walked past Terra to get her smock, barely giving him a glance. Maybe if she's cold, he'll go away. Just like the others.

Terra coughed awkwardly into his hand, not wanting to offend her with his answer, "Well... They're not the best." He heard Aqua scoff as she began tying her smock on from the back. Terra noticed she was having trouble, so he reached out to help her but froze mid-reach. He drew his hand back quickly before she could notice and dropped his gaze to the floor, not wanting to let Aqua see his flushed face. _"Keep it together. She doesn't even know you and you barely knew her."_

Aqua looked back at Terra, wondering why he wasn't talking and found him staring at the floor. She shrugged and walked over to her painting, which was still on its easel. She stopped in front of the clothed-covered painting and could feel Terra's eyes on her again. Aqua sucked in a breath to keep her blush down and turned around to face him.

Their eyes met and after a few seconds Terra broke the eye contact. Saddened a bit by his... rejection?... Aqua put her hands on her hips and tried to keep her emotions in check.

Terra could feel his heart beating against his ribcage. It was so loud to him, he was scared Aqua would hear it. His face was flushed and was out of breath. _But why?_

The entire day, the baseball captain had asked his friends about the mystery girl he had met, and he was told that it was most likely a Third Year named Aqua. She was in his year and he had no idea! Maybe Ven was on to something when he had told Terra that the brunet was the most oblivious person he had ever met...

Shortly after he had learned her name, he heard the rumors. Some were strange and some were downright hateful. To him, it seemed that the worst rumors were created out of jealousy over her artistic talent and fame. Hearing them just made him want to meet her even more. So here he was, directly in front of her and he couldn't even hold himself together.

Aqua turned her head away, still a little dejected that he had avoided her.

"Leave."

Terra whipped around to look at Aqua. She had her back to him as she faced her covered canvas. Quite honestly, the painting intrigued him and he wanted to know what she could have possible been painting that incurred that beaming smile from the day before.

That smile that had enchanted him.

"What is it? Your painting." he asked, ignoring her previous command.

Feeling a sense of panic rise, Aqua asked quickly, "You didn't see it? Yesterday, I mean."

Terra shook his head a mumbled a small 'no'. He scrunched his eyebrows together in thought. "Ah," he said in realization.

More panic rose in Aqua chest as she turned to Terra. His mouth was making a small 'o' and then it changed into, in Aqua's opinion, a smirk.

"Is it a nude?"

Embarrassed beyond belief, the blunette openly gaped at the boy. His eyes widened a bit and his smirk grew, "Whoa, I was just joking. I didn't think that I'd be rig-"

"It's not a nude, you idiot!"

The red-faced girl huffed then walked over to Terra. She began pushing him toward the exit, "I think it's time you leave."

Terra wasn't going to lie, her hands on his back made him feel warmer that it really should have. So distracted by her touch, he was easily ushered to the door. She opened the door and proceeded in trying to continue pushing him out when he threw his hands out and grabbed the door frame, stopping any chance of further movement.

He turned his head to look at Aqua and couldn't help but enjoy the closeness of her face to his.

"I'm going to come again."

Aqua froze and looked the captain straight in the eye. "Why?" She asked breathlessly, transfixed by his blue eyes. She could feel his face leaning closer.

"Because..." He trailed of, not really knowing his reason for wanting to see her again. _"Because I want to be with you."_ Realization hit him hard as he repeated the sentence over and over again in his head. Terra could already feel the massive blush appearing on his face.

"Because I like your art." He blurted out. Aqua blinked, her mind blank. "Oh." she said quietly.

"Well you shouldn't come." _"No, please, do show up." _"You know the rumors about me right? I'm not exactly the most loved person around. Hanging out with me will just ruin your image." _"Please don't __go. I want to be with you."_

"I know."Terra just then noticed how close he was to her, bodies almost touching and faces inches apart.

"I know." He whispered again as he leaned in closer to her.

Aqua felt her eyes flutter closed as she felt his breath on her face. She waited, eyes shut and heart beating. _She was waiting. _Aqua's eyes opened and she saw how close Terra's face was to hers. _"He's leaning in!" _She bit her lip and weakly pushed Terra away from her. He opened his eyes and stared at Aqua with sadness and... rejection?

"Leave," Aqua whispered as she stared at the ground. She noticed her hands were still on Terra's chest from when she pushed him. Pulling her hands back to her sides, she took a step back. Being so close to him was honestly making her dizzy.

"Aqua." Terra said, no, _pleaded_. He knew why he was pleading and that's why it hurt him so much. _"I've known her for less than 24 hours and haven't even talked with her for an hour." _He took a deep breath and pushed down a certain lurching feeling that had risen in his stomach when she had pushed him away. _"I want to get to know her, not just from rumors, but from her." _

"I'll come back." He said, almost confidently.

With that last declaration, Terra walked out of the studio. Aqua stank into a nearby chair and brought her hands up to her face. She didn't know whether she should have been smiling because she almost _kissed_ _Terra_ or crying because she _really_ wanted it to happen. She _wanted _it to happen. So that of course meant that she...

She groaned and looked toward her covered painting. Such mixed feelings, but she knew that what to paint. She stood up and uncovered her painting. Aqua stared at the warm orange and red colors that surrounded the main figure in the center. She brought her hand up, as if to touch the canvas, but put it back down and let out a sigh.

Aqua picked up her paints and prepared her pallet.


	2. Chapter 2

True to his word, Terra showed up at her studio day after day. He would always be waiting for her either outside the room or inside, sitting in a chair on the days she didn't lock her studio.

Terra had never been so happy before. Yes, baseball brought him a happiness that could never be matched, but being with Aqua was something else entirely. When she was around him, the world seemed brighter and louder. It was so strange, sometimes it hurt to be with her, but not in a bad way. Almost like he was drowning in her presence, he had described it to himself one day.

Terra had gotten much closer to her since the first day he decided to talk to her.

It took lots of effort, but he had finally gotten the girl to open up a bit and have real conversations. The day after Terra had almost kissed her, the captain was feeling awkward, but Aqua had acted like nothing had occurred. He was both relieved and disappointed. Terra wanted it to matter to her as much as it mattered to him. That (almost) incident had made him realize something important and he resolved himself into telling her one day. As soon as he got closer to her, that is.

Just like he wanted, he learned about her, like how she was scared of dogs and how even though her name meant water, she could barely swim. They laughed and even ate lunch together a few times. Terra eventually introduced her to Ven and the two hit it off rather quickly. So quickly in fact, Terra felt a little jealous when the artist fawned over the young boy like an older sister.

Ven naturally caught wind of Terra's feelings toward Aqua and would often remind Terra of that fact in the most embarrassing of ways. Once, the blonde had even tried to use his knowledge to blackmail Terra. That didn't end well for Ven.

The three had become such good friends they were rarely seen apart. This change was spotted by the rest of the student body. Some people had realized that Aqua was not as gloomy as they had once perceived, whereas others continued to scorn her. Aqua, like always, just did as she pleased, but she would have been lying if she said she was completely unaffected by the remarks she heard behind her back.

"Did you hear, Aqua?"

The addressed girl looked up from her lunch and swallowed down her food. "Did I hear what?"

The infamous trio were eating launch outside together again. They had recently found a nice shady spot under an old oak tree.

"Terra and I have a BIG game coming up!" Ven swung his hands up high to emphasize how big the game was supposed to be. Terra rolled his eyes but smiled as he continued to eat his bread.

"Oh really?" Aqua asked as she raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah, it's the play-offs! If we win this game we're off the the Nationals!"

Aqua's eyebrows raised in surprise. "Wow, that amazing. I had no idea you guys had gone so far." She smiled at both boys, "I wish you both luck."

Terra's eyes locked with Aqua's and her smile widened. He choked on his food, suddenly forgetting how to eat. Aqua hurriedly handed him her drink and Terra caught Ven's knowing smirk as he cleared his throat. Since becoming friends with her, Terra felt as if he was becoming clumsier and more awkward around her. _"I just like her that much." _He covered his blush with a little cough.

Their lunch continued and as soon as Aqua finished, she gathered her things and stood up, dusting off her uniform skirt. The boys sent her questioning looks and she smiled at them.

"Off to my studio. I'm so close to finishing my painting. There's still half an hour let of lunch so I guess I'll see you guys later."

She began walking away when Ven called out to her, "The game is the day after tomorrow! You _absolutely_ have to go!"

Aqua gave the boy a small nod and wave as she continued walking.

Ven turned to his companion and found the brunet staring at Aqua as she walked, a forlorn and longing look on his face.

"If you want to be with her, you're going to have to be able to at least _sit_ with her _without_ making yourself look like an idiot."

"Shut up."

* * *

><p>Aqua walked up to her art studio and noticed the door was slightly open. <em>"Strange. I'm sure I locked it last<em> _time I was here." _She cautiously stepped inside, taking in her surroundings. After giving everything a quick look, she noticed nothing extremely out of place. She walked in further and jumped when she heard the door slam shut. Spinning completely around, she was met with three pairs of eyes.

The artist stepped back until she bumped into a table. "W-What are you guys doing here?"

Aqua knew these three girls. They were infamously known as the biggest Terra fangirls in the entire school. Their leader, a tall girl with long dark hair, stepped forward. Her name was Helen but everyone called the the 'Evil Queen' because of her venomous and haughty personality.

"You've gotten pretty close to Terra and Ven these past couple weeks huh?"

The two other girls stepped forward and crossed their arms in front of their chests. One was thin and tall, just like the Evil Queen, and refused to be called anything but 'Lady' Tremaine, whereas the other was a little shorter but had a dark glint in her eyes that earned her the nickname 'Maleficent',despite her name being Mallory.

Aqua swallowed hard. She knew that she shouldn't show that she was scared but these girl always managed to unnerve her. "Yeah I guess. I-I mean we're not, like, super close or anyth-"

Her babbling was cut off when the Evil Queen slammed her hand onto the desk Aqua was leaning on. She brought her face close to Aqua's, glaring directly into her eyes.

"You best remember your place. Terra is way out of your league, art freak."

Sweat was beginning to drip down Aqua's neck and her legs were going a bit wobbly. Suddenly the harsh words that had been thrown at her since she was named an art prodigy as a child came back at her with full force. She fought off the urge to cry and bit her lip.

She needed to stay strong. She liked being with Ven and Terra. The past couple weeks had been her happiest ones in years. The boys accepted who she was and her passion for what she did. Aqua thought of them as her first _real_ friends and she didn't want to lose that. She didn't want to lose _Terra_.

"You can't tell me what to do." The words flew out before Aqua could even process them.

"Oh?" came the Evil Queen's response.

Aqua suddenly found herself being shoved onto the ground. She hit the concrete flood with a 'thud' and looked up to see the trio sneering down at her. The Evil Queen turned to the other two girls and nodded. They nodded in response and walked around Aqua's studio, pushed things over and ripped papers.

"What do you think you're-!" Aqua was cut off when the Evil Queen placed her foot on Aqua's chest, holding Aqua down..

"Freaks like you need to learn their lesson."

Tears pricked at Aqua's eyes as she watched her art be destroyed by the two girls who were playfully laughing while damaging all her supplies. Her hands were shaking and she felt helpless, sitting against a wall, dirty. Finally the girls stopped and the room looked like a tornado had just flown through, the only thing left in tact was her easel with her, still covered, painting.

The Evil Queen took her foot off Aqua, but the blunette made no movement to get up. She sat, broken and horrified at what had just been done. The leader of the trio smugly smirked down at Aqua then began making her way toward the easel. With one swift motion she pulled the cover off and the other two girls moved in to look. All three let out barks of laughter and the Evil Queen grabbed the canvas, bringing it over to Aqua.

She pointed at the figure in the center of the painting, still laughing, "Is this who I think it is?"

Aqua stared at her painting. It was nearly done; she was supposed to put on her final touches that day.

It was beautiful to say the least, vibrant oranges, reds and browns framed the outside of the painting, creating a look of autumn. In the center was a young man, his back turned, looking like he was walking away. A clear name was imprinted on he back of the man's baseball jersey and his brown hair looked like it was blowing in the winds, just like the leaves on the surrounding trees. It was blatantly obvious who the subject of the painting was.

Hot tears burned in Aqua's eyes as she recalled that day.

* * *

><p>Towards the end of the summer, Aqua was told that she was to enter an art contest that would take place in Italy. She, herself, would not have to go, but it was still a monumental honor. Aqua knew that even if she did not win, she would be able to bring even more attention to her art. She felt anxious, nervous and excited, her head bursting with ideas.<p>

So many ideas, in fact, that she couldn't put a single one down on paper. Aqua had seen it as a phase that would soon pass, but as the days dragged into weeks, she grew desperate. She would think of something, then it'd be gone. Her parents and art teacher at the time often asked her how her work was going. At first, she would lie and say something like 'Great!' or 'It's coming along', but the pressure was building on her. She couldn't even look at her art supplies.

One day she decided to take a walk outside, mid-day, to escape her parents curious eyes when they noticed she wasn't doing much. Aqua was slowly walking down one of the roads she often took to get to school. The road was usually empty and was beautifully lined with trees that bloomed amazingly in spring and were wonderfully colorful in autumn. Red and orange leaves fell around her as she stared at the trees blowing. She let a single tear fall before quickly wiping it away when she heard some voices turning onto the road.

She stood still, looking up, as a group of young boys began walking her way. Aqua noticed that the boys were wearing baseball uniforms and were pretty sweaty and dirty. _"They probably just had a game or something."_

The boys laughed and playfully shoved each other as they made loud jokes. As they got closer, Aqua looked towards then and locked eyes with a brown-haired boy that stood near the center of the group. Everything froze for Aqua as they continued to stare, him and his friends nearly next to her by then. Then, the boy's smile widened and his eyes sparkled.

Aqua could feel her heart beating and as the boys walked past her, she continued to stare at the boy. He had already turned back to his friends and was laughing at something that was said. Aqua continued to stare at the boy's back as he walked away. She didn't see anything else but him. She memorized the name on his jersey and the way the wind blew around him.

The image of his back burned into her memory.

That was the day when Aqua fell in love with Terra.

* * *

><p>The barks of laughter that belonged to the fangirl trio brought Aqua back to reality.<p>

"Tell me, _freak_, are you in love with him? Are you in love with Terra?"

Aqua said nothing as she continued to stare at her painting. The Evil Queen grew impatient and shoved the canvas into Aqua's face, nearly hitting her nose, "Are you in _love_ with him?" Aqua kept her silence and the Evil Queen huffed in annoyance. She took the painting and put it back on its easel. She grabbed a nearby paint scrapper and stabbed in directly into the middle of the painting. Aqua flinched at the noise and stared in absolute horror. The Evil Queen moved the utensil through the painting, completely ripping the entire piece.

"Learn your place!" She screeched as she threw the scrapper down with a 'clank'. The other two girls giggled as they began walking towards the door. The Evil Queen scooped up some tube paints that were thrown on the floor and walked towards the still seated Aqua.

As the warning bell rang, signaling the end of lunch, the Evil Queen squeezed all the paint out of their tubes above Aqua. Paint dripped down the blunette's face as she looked toward the floor. The trio laughed as they began making their way out. The Evil Queen turned as she was closing the door, "That's a good look for you, freak." Her face grew hard and her voice dripped with venom, "Stay away from Terra. If we see you getting close to him again, you know what will happen." And with that she walked out, gently closing the door behind her.

Aqua stared at the ground as paint dripped down on to her uniform. Warm droplets began to hit her lap and hands. She then noticed that she was crying. Aqua hiccuped as more tears dripped out. Tears of frustration, tears of fear and tears of a broken heart dripped down as she cried out. She heard the school bell ring again, signaling the start of class but she made no effort to get up.

That was the first time she had ever skipped class.

After nearly an hour of sulking on the floor, Aqua finally stood up. She walked to the sink that was installed at the corner of the room and began wiping her face with wet paper towels. She did they best she could to get the paint out of her hair and looked down at her uniform with a sigh. _"I guess I could just say I spilled."_

Aqua then turned to face her destroyed studio. She walked to her painting of Terra and touched the ripped canvas. More tears fell and Aqua stepped back. Drying her tears, she began to clean up.

* * *

><p>The final bell rang, signaling the end of the day and Terra quickly gathered his things. Practice was going to start an half an hour later than usual because their couch had some business to attend to, so Terra had more time to spend with Aqua. He quickly made his way to her studio. When he got to the door, he took a deep breath. <em>"This is it."<em>

Although Ven had already told Aqua about the match and invited her to go and watch, Terra wanted to do it himself. He was fully intent on winning the game and finally telling Aqua his feelings afterwords. _"Finally."_ Terra stared at the doorknob as he took another deep breath.

He wanted to tell her. He _really_ wanted to tell her. He loved being her friend but he wanted so much more too. He could no longer see himself with anyone else and he'd be damned if he let her fall into another man's arms.

Terra reached for the doorknob and found it locked. He let out the breath he had been holding and almost rolled his eyes at the anti-climactic situation. The captain sank down to the floor and made himself comfortable against the door. He had sat there before, waiting for Aqua to show up and invite him inside. Terra never had to wait long because the young woman was always eager to work after school.

Fifteen minutes passed and Terra was starting to worry. Had she gone home? _"No,"_ he thought, _"she told me that painting after school was her favorite thing to do."_ He waited a few more minutes until he decided that he might as well go find her. Terra and Aqua were three classrooms away so he hardly ever saw her walking to class but he figured that if she wasn't in her studio, she was in her class.

He made his way to the classroom but found it empty. Terra scratched his head in confusion, _"Where could she be?"_ He began walking down hallways and stairs, back to Aqua's studio, to wait for her there. As Terra turned into another hallway, he caught a glimpse of blue and immediately knew who it was. He jogged to the corner and sure enough, she was walking down the hallway, back turned to him.

"Aqua!" he called out happily.

His visibly saw her flinch and he wondered if his voice had been too loud.

Aqua turned her head slowly to see the guy she absolutely did not want to talk to at the moment. Terra began walking her way and Aqua turned back around and continued to walk in the direction she was originally going. She heard his footsteps get a little faster. "Aqua?" he called out again, a little softer than before.

Then Aqua was sprinting.

Terra had no idea what to think when he saw Aqua full-on sprinting away from him. Instincts kicked in and Terra began running after her, turning in random hallways, going up stairs. "Aqua!"

Aqua didn't turn when she heard her name being called. She originally had gone to her classroom to get her bag so she could just go home. Terra showing up and chasing after her as she frantically ran around corners and up stairs was definitely _not_ part of her plan in avoiding Terra.

Of course she didn't _want_ to avoid him, but what was she to do? She kept up her strong exterior for so long, and it just came tumbling down. As Aqua jumped up a few steps, she felt more tears stinging her eyes. She _really_ didn't want to cry anymore, and she knew that if she were to face Terra, feeling as she was, she, for sure, would begin bawling.

"_She's running away from me. She's _running away_ from me."_ Terra cursed as he jumped up a few steps and turned a corner, hot on Aqua's trail. "DAMMIT AQUA!" He yelled out as they turned another corner. Why was she running? Why was she avoiding him? Had he done something wrong? Did she hate him? _"No."_ Terra thought as he sped up, _"Hate or not I don't want to lose her. I'm the faster runner!"_ Terra gave one last boost of energy and reached out his hand to grab Aqua.

Aqua felt and large rough hand grab her wrist. It pulled her back, but because of Terra's momentum, they ended turn a few times until they were face to face. Aqua kept her head low. _"Don't look. Don't look." _"Aqua."_ "Mother of-" _Aqua mentally cursed. It was hard not to look at him when he said her name like _that,_ deep and husky. Aqua felt her knees wobble. "Aqua." he repeated, almost in a whisper. The blunette thought back to the day they had first spoken to each other and how close he was to her that day. He had said her name the same way.

Terra was getting frustrated with the fact that the girl he was holding onto still wasn't looking at him. He moved his hand up to her shoulder and his other hand grabbed the other shoulder. He moved her back a step so she was against a wall. Terra had trapped her. He wanted answers dammit! He repeated her name again, but she didn't look at him.

"Look at me." His voice sounded weak and pleading, but Terra didn't mind. That how he was feeling, how she made him feel.

Aqua shook her head in response and Terra asked her once more, "Aqua, look at me." His right hand had moved up from her shoulder and was resting on her left cheek. Terra knew that they weren't _that_ close, but he wanted to touch her. He _wanted_ her.

Terra's rough fingers began rubbing her cheek, and Aqua had to stop herself from sighing in delight. _"I cant- _We _can't be doing this right now." _She jerked her head away from his hand and lifted her hands to his chest to push him away, but her efforts were weak and did almost nothing.

"Do you hate me?" Aqua's eyes widened at the question and almost lifted her head to stare at the man whose voice sounded so hurt. She bit her lip and gave another push at Terra's chest.

"Do you?" Terra asked again, he knew deep down that she didn't hate him; she wouldn't have stayed so close if she did. But, he wanted to hear it from her mouth. Terra waited a few more moments but was only rewarded with weak pushes.

"Come to my baseball game." He felt Aqua stiffen in his grasp and he dropped his hands to his sides.

"Please."

Aqua lingered a few more moments, not looking up once, then was off sprinting down the hallway again.

This time, Terra didn't chase her

* * *

><p>Aqua sat on the floor of her studio, knees close to her chest and face buried in her arms. She felt horrible. Not only had she ran away from Terra, but she hurt him. She could feel it in his voice every time he spoke. Aqua's arms began to feel warm. <em>"More tears," <em>she thought bitterly.

She couldn't help it this time. She was so in love with Terra, there was no way she could stop it. Aqua looked up through her tears to her easel and ruined painting. It was the only thing she didn't clean up in the studio, she just didn't have the heart to throw it away. Aqua pictured the painting as her feelings for Terra as she closed her eyes, ripped, ruined and unneeded.

"_Please."_

His voice rang through her mind as she opened her eyes again. Aqua clenched her hands, _"No. This isn't right."_ Aqua stood up, _"No more." _She walked to her painting and lifted it up. _"I'm scared, but I don't want to avoid him anymore. I don't want to lose Terra." _She turned and looked at the window that had started everything. The moment Aqua and Terra locked eyes, everything fell into place with a 'click'.

"_I can't," _Aqua thought as she walked to the window. Opening the window, Aqua felt the afternoon breeze brush by face and hair. She threw the ruined canvas out the window and let out a yell. A yell that held all her negative emotions, the pain, the fear, the sorrow and weakness that was gripping her heart.

"_I can't _not _love him."_

Aqua walked into her studio with a smile on her face. She grabbed a canvas that wasn't damaged and put it on her easel.

She was feeling inspired.

* * *

><p>Terra sat in the baseball team's locker room. The day had finally come, the day of the play-offs.<p>

The captain fiddled with his mitt as his mind drifted. _"I wonder if she's here?"_ Terra shook his head, trying to focus on the game that was to begin in about twenty minutes. He heard the door to the room open and close. Terra had a good feeling who it was.

"Hey," came a relatively cheery voice.

"Hey," Terra responded gruffly, not looking up.

Ven sighed quietly as he sat down on the opposite end of the bench that Terra was on. The blonde leaned back and looked up at the ceiling.

"This is it, huh?"

"Yeah."

"Play-offs."

"Yeah."

"Off to the Nationals if we win."

"Yeah."

Ven glanced at Terra who was still staring down at his glove. He audibly sighed and turned so he was facing Terra's back.

"If you want to see her so bad, why didn't you go talk to her yesterday."

Terra sighed but didn't move from his spot, "You don't get it Ven, she was _avoiding_ me. If I tried to force her to talk to me, she might hate me." Ven rolled his eyes, "Doubt it. I'm pretty sure she in lov-"

"Ven." Said boy stopped talking. Terra's voice was hard and warning. Ven scooted a bit closer to Terra and put his hand on the older boy's back. "I can't guarantee that she'll show, but I honestly think that she wouldn't miss this. We're friends after all, right?"

Terra turned slightly and gave Ven a small smile. Ven grinned widely in return and gave Terra a hard slap on the back. "Now let's go win so you can finally get a girlfriend, _Captain_."

Laughing and rolling his eyes, Terra stood from his spot. "Sure thing, _Vice-Captain_." Ven laughed as he stood up and walked towards the door. Terra grabbed his hat and securely placed it on his head, adjusting it a little. He began walking towards the door as well.

"Ven."

"Hmm?"

"Thanks."

* * *

><p>Wild cheers resounded as Aqua stepped towards the baseball diamond. She had lost track of time when she was painting, and thanked the heavens that the game was being held at the baseball diamond at her school. Walking in closer, Aqua saw people jumping out of their seats and swinging hats around, some people were even hugging each other. She stepped closer to try to get a look at the scoreboard.<p>

She gasped when she saw the score. _"We won. We won. Terra won!"_

The boys cheered loudly as the team went stumbling into the locker room. Yells and cheers resounded as Terra laughed loudly. They had won! They were going to the Nationals! Terra was pitching in the last inning and had struck out all three batters. Ven was the first one out onto the field, leaping onto Terra, when the game ended.

"Congratulations everyone!" Terra shouted out above the noise. "We're off to the Nationals!" The team let out one united cheer and began chanting their school name. Most boys walked out of the locker room to go meet with friends outside, and the rest began collecting their things.

Ven walked over to where Terra was and excitedly pulled at his sleeve, "Holy _shit_, Terra!"

Terra grinned down at Ven, "Yeah!"

They laughed together when a voice came from the door.

"Captain! There someone who wants to see you outside!" the teammate wiggled his eyebrows at the brunet, "It's a _girl_."

Collective 'ooohhhh's and wolf-whistles resounded through the locker room as Terra rolled his eyes, shoving past his teammates. He _prayed_ that it was Aqua.

* * *

><p>Aqua was feeling nervous as she walked towards the locker room for the baseball team. She had already seen some players run out and hug friends or family, so she assumed they weren't talking about anything major anymore.<p>

The closer she got to the room the louder her heart pounded. She contemplated running. _"No, Aqua. No more running. You've got to do this."_

Suddenly her way was blocked by a certain trio. She looked up into the eyes of the Evil Queen.

"What do you think you're doing?"

Aqua glared back at the girls. "Something that I've been meaning to do for a while." She shoved past them and continued on.

"He'll reject you, you know!"

Aqua turned to face the girls, "Reject me or not, I love him. So threaten me all you want. Go ahead and destroy my studio again! You. Can't. Stop. Me."

"You'll hear from us again."

Smiling, Aqua bowed her head a bit, "I'll shall be waiting then." she said in mock politeness.

The Evil Queen turned in a huff and Aqua started back towards the locker room. She nearly bumped into a baseball player as he turned the same corner as Aqua.

"Whoa there, sorry!" He grinned and Aqua shook her head, "No harm, no foul. Actually, I was wondering if you could call someone out for me. I really need to talk to him."

Terra turned the corner into the next hallway where he heard his visitor was waiting.

He could fell himself freeze when he saw Aqua leaning against a wall, staring down at her shoes. It was the first time Terra had seen her out of uniform and he honestly did not think she could get anymore beautiful. He took a step forward and Aqua looked up at him, her smile beaming. Oh, how wrong he was.

Aqua pushed off the wall she was on and stepped toward Terra, "Congratulations."

"Uhh.." Terra laughed, "Yeah. Nationals... Wow." He looked into Aqua's eyes and saw her eyes glimmering with confidence and beauty. Suddenly he felt self-conscious. _"I don't smell nasty like sweat do I?"_

Aqua stepped forward again so she was a bit closer to Terra.

"I'm sorry." she said quietly, looking down slightly. "I-I wasn't ignoring you... Okay, I kind of was... But it wasn't because I hate you!" Aqua looked up at Terra and he raised an eyebrow. "I just... Had a lot on my mind I guess... But not anymore. I know what is important and what isn't now." She smiled, "I know what makes me happy."

Terra stared down at Aqua and smiled back at her. "I'm glad that you don't hate me." Aqua's eyes widened and Terra sputtered out, flustered, "A-And that y-you figured ou-out your stuff."

Terra took a deep breath in and ran his fingers through his hair. He knew he was probably as red as a tomato, _"But it's now or never." _

"Aqua, actually I – I mean – For a while now... Y-You – I think I'm in lo-"

Terra was cut off by the most pleasant feeling he had ever experienced. While he was babbling, Aqua had stepped forward and cupped his face with her hands, pulling him down as she went on her tip-toes to kiss him.

Aqua pulled back, still holding Terra's face.

"I love you."

Grinning, Terra grabbed her hands and held them tightly, "I love you too." he said as he swooped down to kiss her again.

As Aqua wrapped her arms around Terra's neck and Terra's arms snaked around her waist, the couple could have sworn they heard some cheers and 'about time!'s from the nearby hallway.

Not that it mattered.

* * *

><p>Aqua stepped back from her painting and gave it one last look-over.<p>

"Yep, I'd say it's done."

She felt two arms wrap around her shoulders as she felt a body press against her back.

Terra tucked his face into the crook of Aqua's neck as he looked at the painting. He smiled and kissed the nape of her neck, "I like this painting much better than the last one."

Aqua laughed at the tickling kissing he was giving her, "You didn't even see the last one!" Terra chuckled as he straightened up, "Yeah, but from what you've told me, this one is even better."

With a roll of her eyes, Aqua spun around in Terra's arms and gave him a quick peck on the lips.

"If you say so."

"I do."

Terra grabbed Aqua's hand and brought it up to his mouth to kiss it lightly, "Ready for our _date_ now, Miss Art Prodigy?" Aqua giggled girlishly as she gave a mock curtsy.

"Yes, I do believe so."

Laughing, the two walked out of the art studio. Before completely walking out Aqua gave her painting one last glace.

The easel sat in the mid-afternoon sunlight that was drifting through the open window. Her painting was nearly the same as the last that was destroyed, but instead of a single figure walking down the road, there were two walking, a girl and boy. Their hand firmly held together.

Terra pulled Aqua's arm playfully complaining that they were losing their precious 'date time' so Aqua closed her art studio door with a gentle 'click'.

* * *

><p>Oh sweet hotdogs on a stick! I finished! This story was actually supposed to be one long (SUUUPPPERR long one-shot but this website couldn't handle the size... Awkward...) I started this baby at the beginning of January, during my break, expecting it to be a simple and short one-shot. But noooooo! I had to get all creative and it just grew and grew. Honestly, I'm really happy with it.<p>

Please excuse me with the baseball terms and everything. I was originally going to make Terra a basketball player because then I'd have some experience and know what I'm talking about (sort of), but since the band that did the song that inspired this was called Base Ball Bear, I thought I'd make Terra a baseball player. (And if your're wondering about my summary, it's the English translation of some lyrics from the song "Dramatic".)

Fun fact!: I came across the song "Dramatic" by total chance and it wasn't until I was half-way through making this that I found out that the song was used as an opening for a baseball anime! Funny how things work out...

Anyway I hope everyone like the Disney references and characters because honestly, there aren't enough Disney references in KH fanfics (considering the games have you going to different _Disney_ worlds... I digress...)

Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed! And special treats for all of you!

Please drop me a review! Hopefully I'll see you all soon again! Thanks for reading!


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